January begins the New Year of 2012, an auspicious year for some who believe it heralds a collective expansion of consciousness and a foreboding year for others who assume it crescendos at the end of the year the end of the world. Whether we personally expand our consciousness or only see the wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth over the decline and fall of old institutions, this year and this month could prove a most dynamic time when things can change dramatically and instantaneously without a moment’s notice.
We start the month with the Earth Grand Trine, with planets in all three Signs of the Earth Element, which has been in play since mid-November. The potential for manifestation and deliberate actions on the mundane level is strong and not an energy configuration to be missed. We can create the foundation stones for our future. We do, however, need to be aware and mindful that we cannot bring all our old baggage from the past into this New Year.
If we choose to make new year’s resolutions, let’s resolve to embrace and engage the two key components during this paradigm shift: AWARENESS and MINDFULNESS.
It is important that we keep aware of the universal curveballs, those incidents arising out of the blue that force us to keep on our toes, be alert and mindful at all times. Although some people might define the unexpected situations as anxiety-provoking, unanticipated variables also allow us to continually re-evaluate where we are and how we are going. Certain surprising factors also create a dynamic of changing circumstances, which could allow us to shift our trajectory and alter our approach.
To reiterate what I wrote above and have written times before, we are living during a most dynamic time when things can change dramatically and virtually instantly.
The New Year and the month of January start with Mercury in Sagittarius square Mars in Virgo. Like every New Year’s celebration, we may have great plans and great resolve to make the unfolding year the best year of our lives. We may feel enthusiastic and exuberant and determined to expand in new directions and to broaden our interests. In doing so, we might easily skip over the means by which to accomplish our goals. We could have little interest in the details and the specifics, leaving behind the mechanics to focus solely on our intention with the firm belief in the old adage: ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’.
We might not have much interest in strategizing the way but rather assume that our intention can bring about realization with little effort and solely our personal will.
Once again, we may be challenged to let go of our old societal mindset of being the masters of our own destiny, the makers of our own fate. The universal unfolding has moved beyond such a myopic view and demands that we accept our role as co-creators of our destiny with the natural procession of our lives and our individual journey.
It is essential that we keep in mind the wise saying that ‘we never get more than we can handle’.
Whatever presents itself to us during these times are opportunities, some times feeling like overwhelming challenges and other times as serendipitous gifts coming from out of the blue and with no effort on our part.
As we move into January, the Earth Grand Trine becomes strengthened when Mercury moves into Capricorn on the 8th, just prior to the Cancer Full Moon on the 9th. With Mercury’s entry into Capricorn, the Earth element is not only strengthened but now we have a Stellium of three or more planets in Capricorn as Mercury joins the Sun and Pluto in the Cardinal Earth Sign.
In the early part of January, we may have our feet firmly planted on the ground, focusing on the mundane and material aspects of our being. We might feel like the mythological bird the phoenix, having gone through our own funereal pyre of the past three years with various losses and eliminations, now ready to rise from our ashes to soar ever higher. In so doing, it would be wise for us not to solely concentrate on re-creating our material realm but to always keep in mind the spiritual aspect of our being and question continually whether what we are doing has true purpose, true meaning and provides us with soul satisfaction.
The times of solely ‘getting while the getting is good’ are over and it is important that we keep in mind that sole acquisition of stuff does not truly feed the soul nor enhance the spirit. This early January can allow a deepening process whereby we place our energies in those areas that have merit and provide us with sustenance not only a material level but also feeds our spirit and our soul.
The first weekend of January is action-packed with Mercury, finishing its transit of Sagittarius, sextile both Saturn in Libra and sextile Neptune in Aquarius. On the 8th, Mercury enters Capricorn where Mercury trines Jupiter in Taurus and squares Uranus in Aries. If we would draw upon the wise counsel of a good friend and use their detached opinion of our plans and intentions, we could create a grounded and focused trajectory for our goals. We might use this weekend to reflect on any resolutions already made or devise the resolutions we wish to engage for this year of 2012 — all with the acceptance and understanding of the wise saying that ‘if you want to make god laugh, tell god your plans’.
We can make our plans, charge up our intentions but all with an acceptance that we are no longer in control [as if we ever were] of our journey, our itinerary and our direction.
From the encouragement and support of the special person[s] in our lives, we can then formulate a best practices approach to realize our goals. We must always be ready to shift and change according to the prevailing circumstances and, thus, two other key characteristics for these times — FLEXIBILITY and ADAPTABILITY — need also to be part of our skill set.
The Mercury square Uranus on the 8th is my least favorite aspect for flying, but problems could also arise at this time in regard to travel, communications and computer problems. We may have some great ideas regarding how best to expand our operations, but we might not be accounting for all the variables that could influence the implementation and execution of our plans. Now would be a time to rein in our sense of omnipotence, omniscience and invincibility in getting from concept into manifestation. And yet much of this period from mid-November through most of January with the strong Earth influence is a time when we can be highly productive and most effective in pushing our ambitions forward.
The Cancer Full Moon on the 8th – 9th may ask us to find the balance and happy medium between our professional life and our personal life. We could find that we are having to pare down some of the extraneous from our lives and be more resourceful with our time, our energy and our monies. Expenses might come due and we may discover what The Rolling Stones sang in one of their classic songs: “You can’t always get what you want And if you try sometime you might find You get what you need.”
Increasingly, we might realize that our focus has shifted more and more from our desires to a need-based reality with less emphasis on stuff and more emphasis on what has deeper meaning for us. We could even engage the mantram that ‘living simply is not simply living’.
Although many people quake and suffer from triskaidekaphobia, the fear of the 13th, in numerology thirteen is considered the number of transformation, the realized individual. And January’s Friday the 13th could actually spell some very interesting, focused, yet otherworldly feelings and sensations. On this Friday, Mercury conjuncts Pluto with both in Capricorn and provides a laser-like vision to cut to the core and to be aware of the basic fundamentals of any situation. Our discussions may be to the point and exceptionally incisive. On that day, Venus in Aquarius also conjuncts Neptune in Aquarius and trines Saturn in Libra, just before Venus moves into Pisces on the 14th. Our interactions with other people can be close to idyllic and we may find that we have an ardent supporter of not only what we are doing but also, and more importantly, who we are.
It is interesting to note that much of the activity during January seems concentrated on the weekends. Does this augur for time spent contemplating and considering our future plans without the harangue of our daily responsibilities? Are we in process of looking up from our routine activities and see the distant horizon of what could be and who we could be?
It does seem as though each of us may be creating the suspension bridge between where we are and where we intend to be, putting down slat-by-slat towards our future goals, all the while taking care of our normal everyday tasks at hand.
There will be times when we might choose to leap ahead, leaving much of our past, even our present, behind. But even though our trajectory of possibilities may be clear, the universe might every now and then tap us on the shoulder and remind us of baggage we have yet to leave behind.
The 19th of January has the Capricorn Sun square Saturn in Libra just as the Sun is about to exit Capricorn to enter Aquarius. Reconnections and memories of our past may haunt us but also provide a mirror reflecting where we have been in comparison to where we feel we are now.
The weekend of the 20th-22nd and including Monday, the 23rd, is a highly active time. The Sun enters Aquarius on the 20th, the same day that Venus in Pisces sextiles Pluto in Capricorn. Our compassion and idealism can be ratcheted up and we may look to how we can best engage our spirit into action. The sense of ‘there but for the grace of god go I’ can be strong and a greater appreciation of the interconnection of everything and everyone. We might feel that if one person suffers, we all suffer. And our consciousness can take on a far more universal approach, even to the point of a cosmic consciousness.
As we move through January, we begin to pick up the pace of universal consciousness, as the planets begin to move into their transits of the two universal Signs of Aquarius and Pisces. Venus moves from Aquarius into Pisces on the 14th, followed by the Sun moving into Aquarius on the 20th and Mercury moving into Aquarius on the 27th.
As the Sun enters Aquarius, the Sun sextiles Uranus on the 21st and the Sun squares Jupiter on the 22nd, followed by the Aquarius New Moon. We are champing at the bit to make our changes, and unexpected opportunities could come forward for us to consider. We do have to be resourceful and wary of jumping at anything and everything that smacks of change with greater autonomy and promises of self-fulfillment. Let’s always keep in mind that during these times of the paradigm shift we are co-creators and often may take our cue from the serendipity and synchronicity of universe unfolding.
The Aquarius New Moon on the 22nd-23rd also begins the Chinese New Year of the Water Dragon, an auspicious year that can imply good luck, hard work and success in many ventures. There is the potential to see things from other people’s points of view and to be passionate, assured and determined in all that we do. But with the black water dragon, there is also the liability to the unpredictable and the unexpected, once again forcing us to stay aware and mindful. Struggles and conflicts are likely during this Chinese New Year, all leading to natural phenomena upheavals [such as earthquakes, volcanic activity and flash floods] and dramatic changes in the socio-political arena.
This Aquarius New Moon can also trigger our personal desire for greater change and our focus more on our future than on our present reality. To incorporate greater change we do have to be wary of needless expenditures that might increase our debt load. Being resourceful at this time will not put a damper on our future goals but could provide a reining in of moving too fast with too much exuberance and not enough due diligence. Let’s look before we leap and quite possibly instead of leaping ahead create a suspension bridge, slat by slat, to get us from where we have been to where we intend to go.
On the 23rd, Mars turns retrograde in the Sign of Virgo and continues retrograde until mid-April. If we have rushed ahead, skipped over details and neglected specifics, we may find some of our energies are focused on the “re’s” of reworking, redoing and reconsidering.
Just as the 19th through the 22nd had the Sun square Saturn as the Sun finished its transit of Capricorn, then had the Sun enter Aquarius where it sextiled Uranus and then squared Jupiter; the 27th-28th has Mercury doing a similar energy pattern configuration. Finishing its transit of Capricorn, Mercury squares Saturn on the 27th, then Mercury moves into Aquarius and on the 28th Mercury sextiles Uranus and squares Jupiter.
While the latter part of January can have us concentrating on plans, strategies and considering how best to move forward, we may draw upon other people for their support, encouragement and advice. It would be wise to do so, since we all might be far more interested in rushing ahead into our future than spinning our wheels in the present. We just have to be wary of acting like lemmings and rushing towards the cliffs. Haste creates waste, and these times call for, even demand, resourcefulness whereby we utilize our time, our energy and our monies in a judicious and focused manner.
January is a month when we can create our resolutions, focus on the building blocks of our future without skipping a beat regarding our present responsibilities, and give serious thought to our goals with a little help from our friends.
January 2012… putting spirit into action…
